Local groups bring Christmas early to local family

Beth Sanchez of Toledo wiped away a tear Dec. 22 as she and her family, including husband Joe Sanchez and their children Joseph Jr., 7, Michael, 6, and Matthew, 7 months, were presented with gift cards for Christmas presents, food and gas as well as their utility bills covered for January.

“I just feel so blessed,” Joe said. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to get anything for my kids for Christmas. I was trying to make it happen on my own.”

A $500 Meijer gift card and a $130 gas card was purchased with money raised through an annual Christmas Party charity fundraiser of a local men’s group that would like to remain anonymous.

“We recognize the good fortune we have had in our own lives and with our families and we feel it is not only our duty but our honor to step up and help our fellow Toledoans during the holiday season,” a representative of the group told Toledo Free Press.

From left, Linda Moss, regional president of Toledo Edison; Charles Allen, senior vice president of transformative services at Cherry Street Mission; Berna Aguilar, family advocate for Cherry Street Mission; and Toledo Free Press Publisher Tom Pounds, representing the men’s group that raised the funds; with Joe and Beth Sanchez and their children Joseph Jr., 7, Michael, 6, and Matthew, 7 months.

“It’s a huge blessing,” Beth said. “It will help us out a lot. My husband is the only one working. He works and works and works and we never get caught up.”

The Sanchez family is part of Cherry Street Mission Ministries’ Hope House Family Program, which helps families experiencing or facing homelessness working toward self-sufficiency through a one- to three-year structured program that emphasizes education, debt reduction and home ownership.

“They’ve been awesome. I’m just grateful for everything,” Joe said. “They go out of their way to help everybody so we’re just grateful for that.”

The family was living at Riveria Maia Apartments when they discovered mold in their apartment. One of their sons has asthma and Beth was pregnant, so they asked to move to another apartment, where they also found mold. After that, they started bouncing between family members, living in one bedroom at various relatives’ homes. Cherry Street helped them find their current home in March. Riveria Maia was condemned earlier this month.

“This family has been working the program for almost a year and they’ve progressed significantly,” said Berna Aguilar, family advocate for Cherry Street Mission. “With the head of the household finding new employment recently, this will be very helpful to them.”

Columbia Gas of Ohio will cover the January natural gas bill and also presented the family with a combination smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector and a water-saving showerhead.

“It’s exciting to partner with Toledo Free Press, FirstEnergy and others to help a family in our community this Christmas,” said Chris Kozak, communications manager for Columbia Gas of Ohio.” By covering their January natural gas bill, it’s an opportunity to extend that support beyond the holiday season and into 2015. We also want to make sure this family is safe going forward, and the smoke and CO detector should help protect them into the new year.”

Toledo Edison will cover the family’s January electric bill.

“It’s such a pleasure to be able to offer this gift on behalf of Toledo Edison to the Sanchez family,” said Linda Moss, regional president for Toledo Edison. “The outreach of the local community to help this family enjoy a special holiday is heartwarming and we are so proud to be a part of it.”

Joe’s new job is at Sun Chemicals in Maumee. He started Dec. 19.

“I have a good feeling about this,” Joe said. “I think it’s all going to work out.”

City considering demolishing shortened smokestack

Editor’s note: Updated with response from HUD, comments from Marc Gerdeman and comments from Lisa Ward.

The City of Toledo received Sept. 9 the approval it sought from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to potentially demolish the rest of the recently shortened smokestack at the former Toledo Edison power plant site in East Toledo.

The 75-foot stack will likely remain for now, but the approval from HUD gives the city the option to demolish it in the future without jeopardizing the HUD grant used to fund the project, said Marc Gerdeman, brownfield redevelopment officer with the City of Toledo’s Division of Environmental Services.

“If there’s any future redevelopment at the site, it may be removed, but for now it’s going to stay,” Gerdeman said. “I don’t really see it in the future being knocked down anytime soon. We’re keeping it until we hear otherwise from the mayor’s office.”

After two stacks at the site were imploded July 16, the city planned to shorten the remaining stack to about 100 feet. However, the Aug. 29 implosion left the 297-foot stack around 75 feet instead, including its 48-foot concrete base, said Bill Burkett, city commissioner for economic and business development.

The third and final smokestack at the former Toledo Edison power plant site in East Toledo was shortened by an implosion on Aug. 29. Cleveland-based B&B Wrecking has since evened out the brick on top for a final height of about 75 feet. The city is now deciding whether to keep the stack as is, turn it into a lighthouse motif or demolish it. Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney

“We knew there was a possibility depending on how that stack fell that there could be some additional damage,” Burkett said Aug. 29. “It looks a little short, we know that.”

Oklahoma-based Dykon Explosive Demolition Corp. was contracted by Cleveland-based B&B Wrecking by the City of Toledo to perform the implosion. A week after the implosion, B&B Wrecking returned to the site to even out the remaining brick to a uniform height.

Although the resulting height is still within the project’s planned scope, which called for stack to end up at 100 feet give or take 25 feet, many feel the shortened stack looks too short, Burkett said.

“The consensus was aesthetically we did not meet the preservation goal of keeping enough brick,” he said. “I think people thought with 50 feet of brick, aesthetically, it would look more like we were preserving a stack, but with only about 20 feet of brick you kind of lose that preservation affect.”

The city, with input from other groups including the Marina District Architectural Review Committee and the nearby National Museum of the Great Lakes, is now working to decide whether the leave the stack as it is, turn it into a lighthouse motif as has been suggested by Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins or tear it down.

In the meantime, B&B Wrecking will return to the site to put a cap on the stack, Burkett said. The cap will be made of “marine-grade plywood,” he said, and will help protect the stack from damage caused by water seeping between bricks and then freezing and thawing over the winter.

The implosions, along with cleanup at the site and the preservation of a guard house structure, was funded by a $475,000 federal grant awarded to Toledo by HUD in fiscal year 2009.

The scope of the original project called for retaining a portion of one stack along with the guard house at the front of the site as historical preservation. The guard house, which had its roof replaced and windows boarded up, has been preserved for possible future use, Burkett said.

In order to consider demolishing the shortened stack, the city needed to request permission from HUD to modify the scope of the project.

If HUD had declined to allow the city to modify the project, the stack would definitely have remained, Burkett said, as the city would likely have been asked to reimburse the grant funding if it was demolished.

“If they want their money back, the stack will stay like it is,” Burkett said. “If we get permission from them … we’ll probably move ahead and take it down.”

The estimated cost to demolish the rest of the stack, including the concrete base, is $40,000, Burkett said. Where that money would come from has not been determined, but could come out of the city’s economic development fund if an economic development project is developed for the site, he said.

“A lot of it depends on what the plans are for that area,” Burkett said. “What we do next is figure out what’s next for the Marina District.”

The Marina District Architectural Review Committee approved the city’s plan to leave a 100-foot stack, but had preferred the preserved stack be higher than 100 feet, said City Plan Commission Director Thomas Lemon, a member of the five-person committee, which reviews developments in the Marina District overlay.

“There was a preference to keep the stack a little higher if possible,” Lemon said. “It was more in keeping with historical appearance and function.”

Lemon said there has not been another official committee meeting to discuss the site, but several members have weighed in since Aug. 29 to say they might support demolishing the stack.

“Since it turned out a little lower than what they had planned — although still within the tolerance — there is some support for removing the entire stack,” Lemon said. “At least one or two members feel that might be the best resolution at this time.”

Lisa Ward, public information officer for the city of Toledo, said the mayor still favored the idea of turning the shortened stack into a lighthouse motif, but nothing had been decided yet.

Lemon said the committee is generally not in favor of Collins’ idea to turn the remaining stack into a lighthouse motif, although there has not been an official vote.

“I think the ARC would prefer it maintain more of the original look of it as much as possible,” Lemon said.

Once the city hears back from HUD, the architectural review committee will set up a meeting to discuss, Lemon said.

Burkett and Lemon stressed no final decisions have been made.

“What we’re going to do with it, we don’t know just yet,” Burkett said. “We’ve been discussing options.”

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COMMUNITY

FirstEnergy Corp. will spend nearly $100 million on infrastructure upgrades

FirstEnergy Corp. will spend nearly $100 million on infrastructure upgrades this year to the Toledo Edison grid in an effort to cut outages for Edison’s more than 300,000 customers in Northwest Ohio.

The amount to be invested is $25 million more than last year and accounts for upgrades for the entire year, said Christopher Eck, senior communications representative.

“Work has begun on some of it already and some is ongoing,” Eck said. “We had an increase in funding across the board this year. It’s just good business sense to invest in the grid.”

This year’s polar vortex and subzero temperatures wreaked havoc with some equipment, causing failures, he said, so this type of investment will “keep things up to snuff.”

The company plans to break ground on a new transmission substation in Perrysburg, upgrade transmission lines and distribution circuits, inspect and replace overhead and underground circuits and utility poles as needed and continue with tree trimming.

“When combined with the dedicated work of our employees, these infrastructure projects have helped Toledo Edison earn the most reliable service record of any public electric utility in Ohio over the last several years,” said Linda Moss, regional president of Toledo Edison, in a news release. “These investments have paid off for our customers, reducing the number and length of service interruptions across our service area, and our plan for 2014 is to continue improving our system.”

The investment in upgrades improves the reliability of the utility and readies the system for future growth from new construction or expansion in the Toledo Edison service area, Eck said. When the snow melts, the grid will be ready to handle any future projects that come its way, he said.

“We’re investing in the grid over there for many years because we want to improve reliability and flexibility of the grid,” Eck said.

Last year, the company spent $12 million on a Fulton County high-voltage substation among other improvements, Eck said.

Of the $100 million in upgrades, $59 million will go toward transmission-related projects built and owned by American Transmission Systems Inc., a FirstEnergy transmission company. According to a press release, the $100 million upgrades include.

A 345 kilo volt substation in Middleton Township in Wood County, scheduled to be completed by 2015. Spending for the project in 2014 will be $18 million.

Continue work on a 48-mile transmission line connecting several substations to help strengthen the grid and increase flexibility in routing power at a cost of $14 million.

Add transformers at area substations to increase their capacity at a cost of more than $12 million.

Replace and upgrade equipment in several substations at a cost of more than $3 million.

Inspect and replace utility poles in Clyde, Fremont, Defiance, Green Springs, Swanton and Toledo. This inspection process is conducted on a 10-year cycle. Inspections began in January, with replacement work scheduled to be performed throughout the year, costing more than $3 million.

Replace and upgrade electrical equipment and vault tops in the downtown Toledo underground electrical network. While underground facilities are generally protected from severe weather events, restoration of this equipment can take longer than restoring traditional overhead equipment.

FirstEnergy Corp is the parent company of Toledo Edison and owns 10 electric distribution companies that forms one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, said a press release. Customers are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.

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CIVIC PRIDE

Video celebrates 100th anniversary of Toledo slogan

One hundred years ago, the people of Toledo declared “You will do better in Toledo,” and the slogan resonates today.

Josh Wagy, left, and John Amato are collaborating on a video commemorating the 100th anniversary of the slogan “You will do better in Toledo.” Toledo Free Press photo and cover photo by Christie Materni

People from around the city are voicing their thoughts on how they are doing better in Toledo in a short video produced by John Amato of JUPMODE and Josh Wagy of Smash Toledo in honor of the 100th anniversary of the slogan.

The adage dates back to 1913 when the Toledo Commerce Club held a contest to create a new slogan for the city. More than 7,000 entries were submitted and four people came up with “You will do better in Toledo.” C.W. Lammers was the first to submit the slogan and was declared the winner.

In 1913, the slogan was illuminated with 7,000 lights on a sign hung from the top of the Valentine Building at Adams and St. Clair streets. The sign alternated between three images: A locomotive, the slogan and a lake freighter. It weighed 25 tons and measured 76 feet long by 68 feet high, though other reports list it as 100 feet by 58 feet.

In 2008, The Blade published a book, “You Will Do Better in Toledo: From Frogtown to Glass City, A Toledo Retrospective in Postcards, 1893-1929,” that showcases a picture postcard of the sign on the book’s cover. It describes the day the sign was unveiled: “The sign was accepted by Mayor Brand Whitlock and first lit on December 17, 1913. According to The Toledo Blade from the following day, ‘8,000 spectators jammed into St. Clair St., between Madison Ave. and Adams St. to view the sign.’”

The sign stayed until 1926 when the city offices moved from the Valentine Building to the Safety Building. Bill Colter, facility manager at The Valentine Theatre, said the baseboard that held the sign can still be seen on the building’s roof, although it isn’t visible from the street.

Donna Christian with the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Department said she suspects the sign was discarded because none of her sources say what happened to it. Local historian John Husman agreed no one seems to know the fate of the sign.

Toledo Railways & Light Co., which donated the sign to the city, split into Community Traction Company for the streetcar business and Toledo Edison for the electric business, the year the sign was removed, Christian said.

‘Cool saying’

The original sign may not exist today, but its legacy endures at Wesley’s Bar & Grill on Adams Street, where a replica sign hangs on the northern wall. Owner Michael Roberts, a former student of history at the University of Toledo, had the sign custom made in 2006.

“It’s a cool saying,” Roberts said. “Everybody else likes it now. Funny how it was dormant for decades.”

Burger Bar 419 employees also sport the slogan on their shirts, printed by Amato, whose T-shirt company has gained popularity since printing the slogan.

“It’s a quintessential slogan for Toledo,” Amato said. “It’s not just because of a shirt. It’s because [Toledo] Mayor Mike Bell wears a [‘You will do better in Toledo’] shirt. There’s a lot of support for it.”

Because the slogan is Amato’s flagship design, he decided to commemorate its anniversary with a short video, asking people of all ages, races and backgrounds how they have fared better in Toledo.

“We just wanted to get a compilation of all the great reasons why people live and do well in Toledo,” Amato said. “We have 25 [voices] already and we’re hoping for 50.”

Those voices include news anchor Chrys Peterson of WTOL-11, professional golfer Pat Lindsey and Bell, among others, Wagy said.

“The reason I believe you will [be] better in Toledo is because of the people,” Bell said in the video. “I’ve traveled across the world and met people from around the globe and some of the best and nicest people are right here in Toledo.”

Amato and Wagy’s video will be posted to social media, where they hope it will go viral. The launch date is set for the anniversary of the sign’s unveiling, Dec. 17.

The slogan has wide appeal and is unique to Toledo, Amato said, adding that although the slogan originated in the 1900s, it’s still familiar to people today.

“Toledo is a great city,” Amato said. “It’s a great place to raise kids. We have an amazing zoo and art museum, we have two great universities in the area, our Metroparks are incredible, our people are friendly and hard-working, we have two great minor league sports teams, we are the home of the industrial glass revolution and art glass revival. There are many reasons I’ve left out.”

Christine Bailey of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce agrees with Amato’s assessment. Bailey, the communications manager at the chamber, said times do change but the ability to create opportunity in Toledo has withstood the test of time.

“In Toledo, we’ve got a lot of great aspects: water, rail, the people,” Bailey said. “Times change but we still have a lot of the good, raw material to create opportunity here. That is what the chamber still believes in and that is what we support. We are not without challenges, but we still think people will do well in Toledo.”

Lifelong love

Business owner Steve Crouse has a lifelong love of Toledo — 30 years long. He’s collected Toledo memorabilia that hangs in his Downtown Glass City Cafe. He’s also the owner of Erd Specialty Graphics on Monroe Street.

Both businesses have their ups and downs, he said, but he believes he wouldn’t have had the same business opportunities in another town as he has had in Toledo.

Restaurateur Trevor Deeter of Deet’s BBQ agrees. He started in the food business with his father and stepmother three years ago amid cries of “You’ll never succeed.”

Critics told him the economy was bad. After the restaurant’s first year, however, it expanded to a new location and then proceeded to burst those seams, Deeter said. The customer support has been “overwhelming,” considering that the Maumee restaurant does little advertising, relying mostly on word of mouth, he said.

Deeter not only sees the support of Toledoans through his restaurant, but in his dealings around town. As a driver for the Salvation Army’s Toys for Tots program, he picks up toys at donation centers with his father, Bob Deeter. He said he was amazed at the level of giving this year.

Jeff Schaaf is the brand manager of Toledo Region, a branding initiative with a goal to promote Northwest Ohio and attract talent to the area. The “You will do better in Toledo” slogan reinforces the goals of his program, Schaaf said.

“It supports what we’re tying to do, to enforce that Toledo is a good place to live, work and enjoy,” he said. “When someone says, ‘Yeah, you will do better in Toledo’ because of x, y, z, I think that’s the way the campaign was started in Toledo, to show that Toledo is just as good as any other city. It fits into the message we’re trying to convey.

“We’re trying to say, ‘Don’t look at the negative stuff; look at the good stuff,’” Schaaf continued. “There are a ton of fun things to do in Toledo.”

Toledo is “doing better” because it’s affordable and accessible, said Bill Thomas, executive director of the Downtown Toledo Development Corporation. People are “doing better” because Toledo is experiencing the “re-urbanization” of Downtown, he said.

“People want to live here, play here, work here, shop here, all within walking distance,” Thomas said in an email. “The Downtown is the same size as the Franklin Park Mall. That is evidence that our Downtown is walkable.”

Crouse said the Downtown area is growing as the younger generation finds its love of Toledo.

“Overall, I think Toledo is a great place to be,” Crouse said. “The cost of living is much better here than in most cities our size. We’ve got so much to offer, like the Toledo Art Museum, but also other entertainment, like the Valentine Theater, Uptown and Downtown Districts.

“Yes, there’s room for improvement, especially in this economy,” Crouse said. “[But] you’re going to have a hard time doing better anywhere else.”

To honor the slogan’s 100th anniversary, Wesley’s is hosting a celebration for the public on Dec. 17. The bar opens at 3 p.m. Drink specials will be available along with “You will do better in Toledo” drink koozies and stickers provided by Amato.

Moss, 48, became regional president of Toledo Edison in May. Her new domain is comprised of a 340-employee company, 310,000 customers in eight counties, 1,000 miles of transmission lines and 7,000 miles of distribution lines.

“I’ve always found it to be a great career path,” Moss said. “I understand it to be dominated with men, but not a challenge I wouldn’t overcome. I’ve always had a successful career. It’s been a good opportunity with me. It put me in a position to come into this role.”

Moss’ career trajectory started 26 years ago when she hired on at Potomac Edison — which became part of Toledo Edison’s parent company FirstEnergy in 2011 — at age 22. She had just graduated with an electrical engineering degree from West Virginia University.

Her first job was as a distribution lines engineer. Not only was her work in a male-dominated industry, but she worked on the operational side, something even more unusual for women, Moss said.

“The way I approached my career was one job at a time. I was focused on doing well in the position I held at the time. I always aspired to more and to take my career to the next level,” she said.

At one point, Moss was in charge of the construction of a brand-new transmission operations center. Calling the experience “invaluable” and “incredible,” Moss said she learned a lot about company operations, knowledge she brought with her to Toledo Edison. She also earned her master’s degree while working full-time.

“I can’t honestly say 26 years ago I thought I’d be in this position [as regional president],” Moss said. “I’m very humbled by the position. I think people recognize you for the work you do and the job you hold.”

Dennis Chack, president of Ohio operations for FirstEnergy, said he has no doubts Moss will serve her new customers well as the leader of Toledo Edison.

“Running a utility company requires a diverse set of skills, and Linda’s success in so many operational roles in our company, coupled with her engineering background and her management experience, made her the right person for this job,” Chack said.

Moss said Toledo rolled out the welcome mat for her after she relocated 400 miles from Hagerstown, Md., to assume her new post.

“Toledo is wonderful,” she said. “It’s just such a welcoming town and everyone here has made me feel a part of their family.”

Moss has spent the past seven months acclimating to a new city, new people and new responsibilities and said that to fill the big shoes left for her — by previous Toledo Edison regional president Randall Frame, who was promoted to regional president of Ohio Edison — she’ll continue to stay the course.

That means maintaining the company’s level of reliability and safety. People take utility companies for granted until they flick their switch and get nothing, she said, which is how it should be. People expect great service and she intends to exceed those expectations.

“Looking at Toledo Edison, we have the highest reliability rating of all public utilities in the state of Ohio,” Moss said. “We’ve held that level for three years.”

Moss wants to keep that rating and continue to help customers affected by storms, high winds or other outages restore their power as soon as possible. Her objective is to spend money on what’s called “reliability” projects, such as the $12 million recently spent on a Fulton County substation.

Toledo Edison spent $23 million on reliability projects in 2013. That includes $6 million on tree trimming, $6 million on pole replacement and $3 million in equipment upgrades. Another substation is planned for 2015 in the Perrysburg area, she said.

As she focuses on product delivery, she’s also keeping an eye to safety. Moss said she will maintain the company’s safety and first responder program, in which first responders learn about electricity and how to deal with electrical emergencies, such as downed power lines.

“Safety, it’s our highest priority,” she said. “Dealing with an invisible entity can be fatal. We respect it and try to provide safety services as best as possible.”

After two decades in the utility business, Moss has experienced a first at Toledo Edison. The company owns the Edison Plaza building, a high-rise in Downtown Toledo, making Moss a landlord for the first time. She said it’s given her the valuable opportunity to form relationships with her tenants, which include the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Regional Growth Partnership and many nonprofits.

She is currently gearing up for a new $2.8 billion program by FirstEnergy that will funnel money to Toledo Edison for projects to improve service, Moss said. Employees are now identifying equipment that needs replacing, like transmission lines and poles, in anticipation of the new money that may arrive in January or February. There’s no word yet on how much Toledo Edison will get, she said.

“It’s a fairly new project and we’re still working through the details,” Moss said

Moss’s husband, Jerry, made the move with her to Toledo, along with their 21-year-old daughter, who is attending Owens Community College, majoring in accounting. They also have two other grown children and three grandchildren.

When Moss is not working or serving on multiple boards, she enjoys playing golf and is already looking forward to the spring. She’s also involved in the community through Toledo Edison.

Moss did not identify any changes she would make as the new regional president, saying Toledo Edison was “well-run” for many years before her tenure. If she can maintain service and safety and customer satisfaction, then she will consider herself a success, she said.

Utility players

There has been a flood of news swirling around local utilities — electric, natural gas and water.

Randall Frame has been named regional president of Toledo Edison for FirstEnergy Corp. Frame will take control after the completion of the proposed merger of FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy, as early as Feb. 1.

As Toledo Free Press Senior Business Reporter Duane Ramsey reported, Frame will be responsible for approximately 400 Toledo Edison employees in Northwest Ohio but not directly for any power generation employees at the Bayshore or Davis-Besse facilities.

Frame has worked at FirstEnergy for 28 years, joining the company in 1982 as an engineering assistant. In 1990, he was promoted to engineer and in 1994 was named industrial marketing supervisor. In 1997, Frame was promoted to director of sales, and in 2004 was promoted to director, Energy Delivery Supply Chain. He was named as director of Utility & Corporate Sourcing, Supply Chain, in 2009.

Trent A. Smith, regional president of Toledo Edison, will be relocated to The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company. Smith is a good man and strong leader; his presence on many local boards will be missed, and we wish him well.

On Jan. 26, Columbia Gas of Ohio announced a 12 project, 32-mile natural gas infrastructure upgrade in Toledo for 2011. As Special Sections Editor Kristen Criswell reported, the upgrade represents $18 million in investment for Toledo and is part of a 25-year, $200 million investment across Northwest Ohio. By the project’s completion, Columbia Gas will have invested $2 billion throughout the state and replaced roughly 400 miles of natural gas lines in Northwest Ohio.

For this investment, Columbia Gas has hired and contracted 12 employees to install the new lines. It is estimated that for every dollar spent on the project there is a $1.60 economic impact in Northwest Ohio, according to Chris Kozak, communications and community relations manager. Obviously the city will greatly benefit from this work and investment.

On Jan. 25, Toledo City Councilwoman Lindsay Webb, in a technically allowed but faint-hearted maneuver, left Council chambers rather than cast a vote for a proposed rise in water and sewer rates (a proposal she helped craft). Rather than vote against the proposal to kill it, or for it and leave the tiebreaking vote to Mayor Mike Bell, Webb timorously vanished before the vote.

As a result, a very necessary but very unpopular proposal that would have been politically tied to Bell now sits and stews while water infrastructure continues to deteriorate. This was not a thoughtful strategy; this was Webb reacting without considering the consequences. City business is just that — a business — and it needs to be treated as such, not toyed with to make vague and unsupportable political points.

It is a good thing Council is not in charge of the electric and natural gas companies in Northwest Ohio; nothing of import would be accomplished in a timely fashion. Let’s hope Webb and Council get plugged in and find a way to move forward, with expedience and the serious-mindedness this deserves.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

Frame named Regional President of Toledo Edison

Randall Frame has been named regional president of Toledo Edison for FirstEnergy Corp. based in Akron. Frame will assume his new position upon the completion of the proposed merger of FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy, which could happen as early as Feb. 1.

The proposed merger was announced in February 2010 and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011. FirstEnergy reported that shareholders of both companies approved proposals related to the merger.

It has received approval from the state regulatory agencies in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland and is awaiting approval in Pennsylvania. It does not require approval in Ohio since it doesn’t involve the acquisition of any utilities here, according to FirstEnergy.

“I’m excited about the area, the opportunity and it appears to be a great place to live. I have been to Toledo many times on business and look forward to getting involved there soon,” Frame said.

Knowing how important it is to take care of customers since they are what make the company, Frame said he will do his best to provide continued customer service to commercial and residential customers in Northwest Ohio.

Frame will be responsible for approximately 400 Toledo Edison employees in Northwest Ohio but not directly for any power generation employees at the Bayshore or Davis-Besse facilities, he said.

Frame has worked at FirstEnergy for 28 years, joining the company in 1982 as an engineering assistant. In 1990, he was promoted to engineer and in 1994 was named industrial marketing supervisor. In 1997, Frame was promoted to director, Sales, and in 2004 was promoted to director, Energy Delivery Supply Chain. He was named as director of Utility & Corporate Sourcing, Supply Chain, in 2009.

Frame earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in electrical engineering technology from The University of Akron.

He has worked in Akron, Mansfield, Springfield and Youngstown and now looks forward to coming to Toledo, he said.

He and his wife Pam are originally from the Akron area and are pleased to be staying close to their families in Ohio. They have two grown children, Mark and Megan, who live and work in Ohio.

Frame reported that they have begun looking at homes in the Toledo area.

FirstEnergy was created in 1997 by combining Cleveland Electric Illuminating, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison. It later acquired GPU, Inc. a utility operating in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Allegheny currently operates in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

FirstEnergy retains the local operating company names to maintain established relationships with local customers, said a company spokesperson.